Maximum Heart Rate - Running

Definition

Maximum heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute your heart can pump under maximum stress.

Requirements

Measuring your heart rate requires a heart rate monitor device. Smart Watches especially with a chest strap are very useful.

Alternative method is to use the radial artery in the wrist or the carotid artery in the neck.
This alternative method can be used to measure your HRM in a controlled environment or during your interval-rest.

Disclaimer

Please check with your doctor first before attempting any of these tests.

Procedure - Age Formula

While this is a good starting point, research has shown that this formula is not perfectly accurate for all people, especially for people who have been fit for many years or for older people.
Your maximum heart rate can be estimated with the formula: 220 - [Your Age]

Procedure - Indoor Trainer

You can do a test on a (smart) indoor trainer (treadmill) to determine your maximum heart rate. A controlled environment would be ideal, perhaps in combination with measuring your VO2max and/or your lactate.

Procedure - Use an incline

- WarmUp properly

- Choose a hill that will take more than 2 minutes to run upto

- Run up that hill once (for at least 2 minutes) building up to a pace you can hold for 20 minutes. Take your heart-rate.
Return to the base

- Run up that hill again, building up to your 3kilometer-pace. Take your heart-rate after the 2 minute build up, it should be about 10 higher than the first one.
Return to the base (easy run)

- Run up that hill at maximum speed, really push yourself!
Take your heart-rate, it should be higher then the previous hill-run

- Repeat if you have the feeling that you can raise your heart-rate even more.

- CoolDown for at least 10 minutes

Take the highest heart rate over all your efforts as your MHR

Procedure - 20 minutes test

- WarmUp properly

- Run for 20 minutes and build up speed gradually.
For the last 4 minutes run at a speed you feel you can't possible maintain to the finish and then go all-out for the last 200 meters.
Take your heart-rate at the finish.

- CoolDown for at least 10 minutes

Take the highest heart rate over all your efforts as your MHR

Procedure - (n) * 2minutes test

- WarmUp properly

- Run (n) times 2minutes at maximum-effort with 1 minute rest in between until you can't go any more repeats.
Take your heart-rate after each repeat

- CoolDown for at least 10 minutes.

Take the highest heart rate over all your efforts as your MHR

How we use it

In general we use your MHR in the settings to auto calculate the zones based on your maximum heart rate and analyse the workouts afterwards.

Can you do a test with us?

Yes!

We have a track nearby where we can do the 20minutes or (n)*2minutes test in safe conditions.
It is also possible to use one of our smart watches so we can measure more easily.